Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read

• Open to a random page• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Today's Teaser is from Driven to Kill by Gary C. King. This is a true crime book (a.k.a. non-fiction) about serial killer/rapist captured in 1990 in the Washington/Oregon area.Kindle Versions, Loc 79 Teaser:"Although Dodd had not murdered anyone until late that summer, at least not as far as the authorities knew, it would later become crystal clear that this seemingly near-perfect all-American "boy" turned adult had been, in reality, inextricably enmeshed in an extended fantasy state during that period and had been trolling for victims for at least several months before the first murders. He had been gradually working up his nerve to begin the atrocities that would first unbalance the Pacific Northwest, and then ultimately shock the rest of the nation."

Monday, April 29, 2013

That soap operas are NOT an invention of the 21st Century? Let me explain. It's too much. Let me some up. (Sorry. Random Movie Quote right there. I haven't been doing that feature on my blog the past few weeks--too busy--so they're just falling out of my head like a fit of Tourettes.)

Back in the 1400s (you know I love medieval stuff, right?) two rival houses of Plantagenet vied for the throne. Both branches were direct descendants of king Edward III. One of the houses was Lancaster, which sported a Red rose as its sigil. The other was the house of York, under the badge of the White Rose. Hence the name history has given this soap operatic battle, The War of the Roses.

The ruling Lancastrian king, Henry VI, surrounded himself with unpopular nobles. To add to that, civil unrest was high, and the feudal system was on a decline. Many powerful lords had their own private armies, and when Henry VI began showing signs of mental illness, it was anyone's game.

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Gain new followers and make new friends with the Book Blogger Feature & Follow! If this is your first time here, welcome! You are about to make some new friends and gain new followers -- but you have to know -- the point of this hop is to follow other bloggers also. I follow you, you follow me.

The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of Parajunkee's View and Alison of Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it'll allow us to show off more new blogs!

How does this work? First you leave your name here on this post, (using the linky tools -- keep scrolling!) then you create a post on your own blog that links back to this post (easiest way is to just grab the code under the #FF picture and put it in your post) and then you visit as many blogs as you can and tell them "hi" in their comments (on the post that has the #FF image). You follow them, they follow you. Win. Win. Just make sure to follow back if someone follows you!

Q: Is there a song that reminds you of a book? Or vice versa? What is the song & the book?

I don't know that this song so much reminds me of the books, but I love the song and I love the books so I often put them together. I love to listen to the song "To Love You More" by Celine Dion and think of possible trailers for the Wheel of Time Series. Especially near the end of the song, when she just sings without actually singing words and the violin is so strong, the song just SOUNDS so epic! It's a perfect fit for such a dramatic, sweeping story!

Thoughts for Thursday is a new meme hosted by Musings on Fantasia and LKHill.In this meme, we share thoughts or quotes that we know or have recently come across. Each week there is a specific subject or theme. These can be quotes from books, quotes by famous people, (quotes by YOU, perhaps ;D). Anything from anywhere is game, though we do ask that you keep your quote to a few sentences at most. Don't quote, for example, entire passages of a book or essay. These can be funny quips, cool sayings, hair-raising antidotes, movie lines, any kind of quote you can think of!

Just have fun, collect awesome sayings by awesome people, and try to be inspired!This week's theme is quotes about good vs. evil. With all the tragedy that's happened in the world over the past week both in Boston and in Texas, I thought it an appropriate subject.

The battle line between good and evil runs through the heart of every man.--Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

The first idea the child must acquire is that of the difference between good and evil.--Maria Montessori

All human beings are comingled out of good and evil.--Robert Louis Stevenson

The future of this world has long been declared; the final outcome between good and evil is already known. There is absolutely no question as to who wins because the victory has already been posted on the scoreboard. The only really strange thing in all of this is that we are still down here on the field trying to decide which team's jersey we want to wear!--Jeffrey R. Holland

And this is the forbidden truth, the unspeakable taboo--that evil is not always repellent but frequently attractive; that it has the power to make of us not simply victims, as nature and accident do, but active accomplices.--Joyce Carol Oates

If I could, Sister James, I would certainly choose to live in innocence. But innocence can only be wisdom in a world without evil. Situations arise and we are confronted with wrongdoing and the need to act.--John Patrick Shanley, Doubt

Which is your favorite quote about good vs. evil? Do you have one to add?

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

So this blog is supposed to be geared toward both my historical fiction writing (or just histfic in general) as well as my crime drama writing (or just that in general). But...I tend to do a lot of historical stuff, a lot of writing how-to stuff, and even some cross over from my scifi/fantasy/dystopian blog, Musings on Fantasia. Not that any of that stuff is bad, but I've really been neglecting the mystery/thriller/crime drama angle.

My first crime novel isn't slated for release, courtesy of Jolly Fish Press, until 2014, but I want to try and do more things with that subject matter on this blog. I'm going to start doing more frequent crime posts like crime tidbits (i.e. unsolved mysteries, factoids, current technology, etc.) and crime writing how-to.

Did you know that in the 1930s, near Cleveland, Ohio, there was a savage, prolific serial killer who was never caught? This case was similar to that of the Zodiac killer or Jack the Ripper, in that it became a media sensation, but the killer was never identified. For some reason, the Cleveland case is much less well-known (or just less remembered?) today than the other two.

Now known as the Butcher of Kingsbury Run, this killer murdered and dismembered at least twelve victims over a two year period. Most of them were found in pieces and in many cases, the heads were never recovered.

Kingsbury Run, also called the Roaring Third, was a shady part of town filled with drug users, prostitutes, hobos, and seedy dives. This was the Butcher's hunting ground and, while not all is victims were identified, many lived high-risk lifestyles in this part of town.

To make things more interesting, Elliot Ness--yes, that Elliot Ness! The one that put Al Capone behind bars for tax fraud--became involved in the case. Recently appointed Safety Director of the area, Ness took charge and helped launch the biggest police investigation in Cleveland history. By the time they were finished, they'd interviewed over 5000 people!

Furthermore, many people speculate the famous Black Dahlia may--in which an ambitious, would-be Hollywood starlet, was murdered and dismembered, her body left in an open field--may have been the Butcher's work. The two cases were not connected while they were happening. The Black Dahlia body was found hundreds of miles away and would have been considered too far out of the way to be associated with the Butcher, but the MO is eerily similar and brutal, and the distance was not so far for anyone with decent transportation. (We must remember that this was in '30s, so police work was still in its infancy, and nothing was standardized or "fully integrated." The two police departments wouldn't have even been very aware of one another's cases--at least, not until the Black Dahlia case hit the air waves and became infamous.)

I've always thought this would make terribly fascinating fodder for a crime story, based in truth. Books have been written about it before, but they're quite old (seventies, I think) and out of print.

What do you think? Would this make a great (albeit creepy) story? Do you think the Black Dahlia and the Butcher of Kingsbury Run could be one and the same case?

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Please join me in welcoming Jenniffer Wardell to the blog today. She's the author of the delightful YA novel, Fairy Godmothers, Inc., the story of a world where fairy tale endings are as common as death and taxes, but they take more drama to pull off than they ever appear to. Thanks so much for being here today, Jenniffer!

My Review

I read an ARC of Fairy Godmothers, Inc., last week, given to my courtesy of Jolly Fish Press in exchange for an honest review.

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Gain new followers and make new friends with the Book Blogger Feature & Follow! If this is your first time here, welcome! You are about to make some new friends and gain new followers -- but you have to know -- the point of this hop is to follow other bloggers also. I follow you, you follow me.

The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of Parajunkee's View and Alison of Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it'll allow us to show off more new blogs!

How does this work? First you leave your name here on this post, (using the linky tools -- keep scrolling!) then you create a post on your own blog that links back to this post (easiest way is to just grab the code under the #FF picture and put it in your post) and then you visit as many blogs as you can and tell them "hi" in their comments (on the post that has the #FF image). You follow them, they follow you. Win. Win. Just make sure to follow back if someone follows you!

Q: If you could hang out with any author (living) who would it be and what would you want to do?

Well, this blog is supposed to be dedicated to historical fiction and crime drama (I know I deviate from those subjects somewhat) so I think I'll pick one of each.

For historical, I think I'd want to speak with Gerald N. Lund. Not everyone knows his stuff because, while I think he has some scifi, he's well known almost exclusively for his LDS fiction. I don't write LDS fiction, but his Work and the Glory series is a massive, sweeping historical epic, and I'm sure he would have plenty of wisdom to impart. I'd love to pick his brain about how he did his research and how he dealt with the grittier aspects of historical fiction.

For mystery/crime drama, I'd probably want to talk to someone like Gary C. King writes crime drama. He's actually done interviews with people involved in real serial killer cases, so I'm sure he has some (extremely creepy) stories to tell. I'm sure I wouldn't sleep for a few days, but I'd still love to sit him down and start with a question along the lines of, "So what's the creepiest things that's ever happened to you?" :D

So I generally don't like angel/demon books much. They're just not my thing. But so many people raved about this book that I knew I'd have to read it eventually. Besides (funny story) the first cover reveal I ever saw when I started blogging last May was the one for Days of Blood and Starlight. I thought it was beautiful and unique (which it is) and that I should read the series sometime (which I now have. Yea!)

Okay, so the story starts off with Karou, who has a complicated life with a complicated ex, and is trying to get over him and put herself through school. But it's more than that: much of the complication in her life arises from the fact that she has a double one. She's been raised by a magical creature who could only be described as a devil--a stern but loving one--who tells her nothing of his work or why he often needs her to run errands for him. Collecting teeth, no less.

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Hello Everyone and Happy Wednesday!I've been saying for months that I want to put together a summer reading challenge. I'm craving mermaid literature! I want to read lots of people's takes on the mermaid legend. So, here it is! The Mermaid Lit Summer Reading Challenge! This reading challenge will be hosted on both my blogs, this one and Musings on Fantasia. The challenge will go for twelve weeks, from May 15th to August 15th. I was just going to go from June through the end of August, but I figured people might want to wrap things up before school starts for them or their kids.

Monday, April 15, 2013

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created here at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

Top Ten Tuesday REWIND -- pick a past topic you missed or one you want to revisit! I pickedFavorite Book Quotes

Oh so many great book quotes. I probably have a hundred things underlined in the Wheel of Time series alone, and pretty much every line Cormac McCarthy's ever written is quoteable, but I tried to give some variety, and concentrate on thematic quotes for the work.

So maybe this is stating the obvious, but Barnes and Noble is definitely the place to do a book signing! I've done several signings over the past couple of months and each time I've only sold a handful of books--like less than five, with three being the golden number. When you're an unknown author, that's just the way it goes, and I'm always grateful for any sale. Then, on Saturday, I went to the B & N in Layton and sha-zam! I sold like a dozen books in under two hours! Can everyone say boo-yah!

It occurred to me that it's probably because, in other places there are books, but also other things. If people come in to Hastings to rent movies, they are often reluctant to plunk down money on an extra, unforeseen purchase. I get a lot of requests for digital copies in those cases. But when people walk in to B & N, they're there specifically there to buy books--so my sales are much higher. Yea!

As for the next events, I'll be presenting a workshop for the Write for the Heights conference on 5/4. My topic is 'The Big Opening,' as in, the big opening of your story. I'll also be presenting to Wasatch Writers, a chapter of the League of Utah Writers on 5/13. At that event, I'll be talking about traditional vs. self-publishing. Both will be held in Utah, but if anyone wants to attend, just email or comment and I'll give you details.Anyone else had any awesome, successful bookish events lately?

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Gain new followers and make new friends with the Book Blogger Feature & Follow! If this is your first time here, welcome! You are about to make some new friends and gain new followers -- but you have to know -- the point of this hop is to follow other bloggers also. I follow you, you follow me.

The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of Parajunkee's View and Alison of Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it'll allow us to show off more new blogs!

How does this work? First you leave your name here on this post, (using the linky tools -- keep scrolling!) then you create a post on your own blog that links back to this post (easiest way is to just grab the code under the #FF picture and put it in your post) and then you visit as many blogs as you can and tell them "hi" in their comments (on the post that has the #FF image). You follow them, they follow you. Win. Win. Just make sure to follow back if someone follows you!

Q: We are about to see a lot of posts & tweets about reader conventions, RT, BEA, ALA and many more are starting soon. Which one would you love to attend? Where and why?

Probably the BEA. It's the only one I know much about. I always hear others talking about it and it sounds like SO much fun! I'd love to go to New York and be part of it. We're talking hundreds--probably thousands--of people who all come together just to share their bookish tendencies. AWESOME! We don't have anything like that anywhere near me. Wish I lived closer so I could attend. Can't wait to hear from those that do, though! :D

Thoughts for Thursday is a new meme hosted by Musings on Fantasia and LKHill.In this meme, we share thoughts or quotes that we know or have recently come across. Each week there is a specific subject or theme. These can be quotes from books, quotes by famous people, (quotes by YOU, perhaps ;D). Anything from anywhere is game, though we do ask that you keep your quote to a few sentences at most. Don't quote, for example, entire passages of a book or essay. These can be funny quips, cool sayings, hair-raising antidotes, movie lines, any kind of quote you can think of!

Just have fun, collect awesome sayings by awesome people, and try to be inspired!This week's theme is quotes about editing!I've been doing A LOT of this lately and, while it's always exciting and deeply satisfying to see the final version of your manuscript come together, it can also be tedious and, I must say, definitely NOT my favorite part of the process. Still, I had it on the brain, so...

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

This is a silly, personal post but I had a fun weekend and wanted to share it! My dad is the coolest guy in the world. I'm sure there's lots of people out there who feel that way about their fathers, but most people--even those who aren't related to him--feel that way about my dad.

His 55th birthday was on Sunday, but we decided to do a surprise party for him. He went to the Priesthood session of the LDS General Conference, which went from 6pm-8pm, and then all the guys in the family who attended went to my grandfather's house for ice cream. (This is a tradition.)

So, we all got to his house about 8pm to tape up balloons and banners. We told my younger brother, Micah, who also attended the conference to get my dad home ASAP. I told him to fake a tummy ache if need be. (Totally going to hell over here for encouraging my 12-year-old brother to lie. Hehe.)

Monday, April 8, 2013

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created here at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

3 Tips on Writing Historical Fiction

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Gain new followers and make new friends with the Book Blogger Feature & Follow! If this is your first time here, welcome! You are about to make some new friends and gain new followers -- but you have to know -- the point of this hop is to follow other bloggers also. I follow you, you follow me.

The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of Parajunkee's View and Alison of Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it'll allow us to show off more new blogs!

How does this work? First you leave your name here on this post, (using the linky tools -- keep scrolling!) then you create a post on your own blog that links back to this post (easiest way is to just grab the code under the #FF picture and put it in your post) and then you visit as many blogs as you can and tell them "hi" in their comments (on the post that has the #FF image). You follow them, they follow you. Win. Win. Just make sure to follow back if someone follows you!

Q: Have you ever read a book that you thought you would hate -- ? Did you end up hating it? Did you end up loving it? Or would you never do that?

Thoughts for Thursday is a new meme hosted by Musings on Fantasia and LKHill.In this meme, we share thoughts or quotes that we know or have recently come across. Each week there is a specific subject or theme. These can be quotes from books, quotes by famous people, (quotes by YOU, perhaps ;D). Anything from anywhere is game, though we do ask that you keep your quote to a few sentences at most. Don't quote, for example, entire passages of a book or essay. These can be funny quips, cool sayings, hair-raising antidotes, movie lines, any kind of quote you can think of!

Just have fun, collect awesome sayings by awesome people, and try to be inspired!This week's theme is quotes about religion/beliefs!

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

This past weekend I went and saw G.I.Joe: Retaliation. My sister is a huge Dwayne Johnson fan, so she wanted to see it. I certainly didn't mind being 'dragged' to the movie theater (poor me, right) but I'll admit I wouldn't have been so gung-ho about seeing it if she hadn't been.

That said, I enjoyed this film far more than I would have guessed. I only saw the first G.I. Joe film once in the theaters, so I've forgotten a lot of it. With that film, it got a lot of flak, from critics especially, for being shallow, cheesy, and having less-than-stellar acting. I remember being surprised at the bad reviews. A little cheese? Yes. But nothing I minded. The special effects were especially cool (who didn't want one of those metal suits that could jump entire city blocks and get hit by trucks without incident?)

This second G.I. Joe film was much better than the first, though. I thought the acting was very good, and the story line was just better. I found it very engrossing. I will warn you: this is an action film to its core! My sister isn't actually big on action films, and the amount of action in it was almost too much for her. I don't share line of thinking myself, but if you aren't big on action films, this one probably isn't for you.

Monday, April 1, 2013

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created here at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

Top Ten Characters I Would Crush On If I Were Also A Fictional Character(All book covers courtesy of Goodreads.com)

The father of Peter the Great of Russia was named Alexei Mikhailovich. He declared war on storytellers in 1649. According to him, storytellers destroyed souls with their "idle talk and merry-making and blasphemy." All skomorokhi (minstrels, peddlers, jesters, harlequins, and other tale spinners) were outlawed and/or banished.Two hundred years later, the ban still hadn't been lifted. Aleksandr Afanas'ev--sometimes called Russia's answer to the Brothers Grimm--was denounced for "collecting stories." In his lifetime, Afanas'ev was a most prolific story collector. He published articles, compiled biographies, collected everything from pagan myths to children's tales, and put together the collection of fairy tales for which he is best known.

The logic behind the denunciation was the following: "The legends published by Afanas'ev are thoroughly blasphemous and immoral. They offend pious sentiment and propriety. Religion must be safeguarded from such profanity."Anyone curious as to Afanas'ev's reply? The stories, he said, "contained 'a million times more morality, truth and human love' than the 'sanctimonious sermons' of his Holiness."Oh snap!But of course back then, no one--even awesome dudes like Afanas'ev--took on the church. His apartment was ransacked, he was dismissed from his post and then forced out of his home. He had to sell his beloved books in order to eat, and spent the last few months of his life in mundane clerical work for a Moscow court. He died of consumption at the age of 45.(Source: Myths and Legends of Russia, Afanas'ev, Aleksandr, "Introduction," pg. iii)Aren't you glad our society no longer frowns on the telling of stories? I often wonder why earlier societies--or at least the powers-that-were--did. I think it's because stories give people knowledge about the world and power in themselves. People who read a lot are more educated than non-readers by nature, and more prone to insurrection if they feel oppressed.In the middle ages, the Church (Catholic and/or Greek Orthodox) and the monarchy were the only powers people were answerable to. Given that their power came from the ability to sway (i.e. control) the people, you can see why they wouldn't want 'stories' to circulate. I think we often take our freedom to be bookish for granted. We should always remember the ones who came before who were persecuted for doing the things we love the most.What do you think? Does telling stories bring us power? And how?

This blog is dedicated to anything that moves me. I write about what's going on in the writing community, fiction, historical tidbits, story ideas, and more. I welcome questions, comments, and discussion!

About Me

I'm a novelist who writes across three genres: fantasy/sci-fi, historical fiction, and crime drama. I live in northern Utah and come from a large, tight-knit family. I love to bake, read, and watch plenty of T.V. And I plan to keep writing until they nail my coffin shut. Or the Second Coming happens. You know, whichever happens first. ;D